Nightmarishly Elastic

X-Rays and Happy Meals

2010-03-26T10:50:00.024-04:00

I'm-a-try something new here.

There's no comic today. Just a text update. I had a couple of comics ready to go in mid February, but stuff came up and I had to put the pen down for a bit. Unfortunately, once you get out of a comics routine, it's hard to get back. There's some new ideas a'cookin and hopefully I'll find some time to put pen to paper and draw more comics soon.

In the meantime, I have a fun story to share.

I work at an orthopaedics research lab. Without getting into too much detail, a project I'm involved with requires my coworkers and I to look at the leg bones of mice with an X-ray. The mice are anesthetized during the brief process. In order to make for an effective X-ray image, we needed to devise a way to keep their limbs outstretched. Solution? Use medical tape to gently hold them to a flat surface without screwing up the X-ray.

But what surface would we use? Kai, who is visiting the lab for a year from China, handed me three candidate materials: The cardboard lid of a test tube box, a plastic lid from another small box, and a thin plate of glass. We decided to test all three on some object. Looking at my desk, I found a few things to choose from.

My workspace.

There was an obvious choice to be made here. But I was able to rationalize it practically. The prosperity charm and the wedding snowglobe both had glass (or... lucite?), which could bend the rays and affect our readings. The Millennium Falcon was not only plastic, but it had a few screws and even a spring inside - that's right, the Millennium Falcon shoots across a table on wheels when you squeeze this grippy-do taht attaches to the back. It's awesome.

Side note: Why do I have assorted Chinese tchotchkes on my desk?

...and on my wall?

The overwhelming majority of the other people in my lab are Chinese. About a week after I started working here in September, a new researcher joined, also from China. Her English was okay, but she needed a pocket translator every now and then. She gave me the prosperity charm, saying that it is good luck for "earning a lot of money." When I asked what animal it was on there, she typed something into her translator and pointed to the result on the screen: "Shit." I kept a straight face. Perhaps it's a bull? And that translator is totally programmed with slang? Maybe it's a pig. I have no idea. I recently learned from a friend that animals in ancient Chinese art don't look like their natural counterparts because most artists didn't bother to go out and look at actual living animals; there was just a traditional way to draw each one, and that's what everyone did. Weird.

So that's my Shit charm. Next to it, is a snowglobe. When Jingming, who also shares my office, got married, she brought in several of those to give out, along with some Hershey Kisses in a tiny mesh pouch attached to the globe. Inside the globe is a tiny groom carrying a tiny bride. There's lots of hearts and characters for "Double Happiness" along the side. It's cute.

Finally, above my screen is a tassle with the character for "Good Luck." Kai gave it to me for Chinese New Year. He has a fish version hanging on the wall over his screen. He and I are Good Luck Tassle Buddies.

I think I'm going to have to bring in some matzah for everyone next week.

Which brings me to The Millennium Falcon! On a drive from NYC to Providence last month, my car made a pit stop. Not hungry (or self-loathing) enough for a full McDonald's meal, but still wanting one of their Star Wars happy meal toys on display, I ordered a Mighty Kids meal. With fingers crossed and all the midi-chlorians in my body influencing the cashier, I hoped the Millennium Falcon was the toy of the day. It was. Victory.

BUT I DIGRESS! Having selected the prime candidate for my X-ray experiment, I gathered the necessary materials and went down to the animal lab.

Suited up and ready to go!

Xin was already working at the X-ray machine, but he let me use it between scans.

Wait, the X-ray machine has lasers too? It's a very good day to be a lab tech.

Moments away from scanning the ship, it felt good to succeed where Darth Vader failed.

Alas, the scanning crew was never able to finish the --- *turns and walks away*

Three quadrants covered plus one control. Mmm, Science!

Commence primary ignition.

Conclusion: Cardboard rocks!

My objective completed, it was time to return upstairs with my findings.

Hahahaha... just kidding! It was time to take some pictures of the Millennium Falcon around the animal lab!

Just to be safe, it was wiped down.

Don't worry. The cage was empty. Plus, mice prefer the back seat of X-Wings. (Source)

Avatar

2010-02-04T00:26:00.005-05:00

Okay, it's been long enough. Has everyone seen Avatar yet? Yeah? Good.

Diamonds!

2010-01-25T13:14:00.007-05:00

I think the title of the article below is interesting from a science journalism point of view. The direct accomplishment of the study was about the qualities of liquid diamond, a state that is very difficult to achieve. Because of this research, we now know that solid diamonds, like frozen water, are less dense than their liquid counterpart. And the conditions to achieve this are insane (Reminder: They melted a diamond with LASERS!), BUT similar conditions happen to exist on Uranus and Neptune. And based on other studies showing a fair amount of carbon on those planets, the hypothesis that they may have giant diamond oceans and diamond icebergs now has some more evidence supporting it.

Ah, Science!

Source:
Diamond Oceans Possible on Uranus, Neptune

Nerd Cred

2010-01-22T01:33:00.007-05:00

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_Hedgehog
McDonald, Kate (19 Jan 2009) "Robotnikin takes on Sonic hedgehog". Australian Life Scientist.
Simonite, T. (15 Dec 2005) "Pokémon Blocks Gene Name". Nature 438, 897
Astley, R. (Aug 1987) http://tinyurl.com/2g9mgh

Season Premiere

2010-01-16T13:53:00.004-05:00

I'm starting it back up! Hopefully I can pump out 2-3 per week.

The Van Wickle Gates Beckon

2009-05-29T23:41:00.005-04:00

This comic originally appeared in the Commencement Issue of the Brown Daily Herald. ~~Since I have graduated, this is likely the last edition of Nightmarishly Elastic. Thanks for reading! :)~~ EDIT 1/16/10: Woohoo! It's back!

Bailout. Yer doin it rong.

2008-12-05T02:11:00.003-05:00

Halloween Costumes

2008-10-31T01:09:00.003-04:00

Originally published in the 10-31-08 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Crunchy or Puffed?

2008-10-31T01:02:00.002-04:00

Originally published in the October 28th edition of the Brown Daily Herald.

Newspapers

2008-10-27T10:25:00.002-04:00

Originally published in the Oct. 27th issue of the Brown Daily Herald. It's fun to whip up an edit cartoon in 5 mins or less. :)

Sounds Like...

2008-09-11T16:18:00.004-04:00

Mail Room Blues

2008-09-05T16:13:00.000-04:00

Paliphant

2008-09-04T09:00:00.004-04:00

summer@Brown

2008-07-20T15:48:00.004-04:00

11/24/08 Edit: Spraying too much deodorant is not only repulsive... you could die!

Fun Hats

2008-04-18T10:02:00.002-04:00

It's good to be Pope.

2008-04-17T01:53:00.003-04:00

Confection Inventions

2008-04-17T01:49:00.002-04:00

Dr. Giant

2008-04-15T01:27:00.002-04:00

Spring Weekend was Fun

2008-04-14T03:01:00.003-04:00

Happy Pi Day!

2008-03-14T04:06:00.003-04:00

Big Shoes? ....Big Socks.

2008-03-13T03:45:00.002-04:00

Don't Piss Away Your Vote

2008-03-12T17:26:00.003-04:00

Damn Wind

2008-03-11T04:16:00.003-04:00

So I was an idiot and accidentally sent the .png file to the Herald, which wasn't cropped to the final .jpg product, so the print version very well might have an extra margin on top that contains sketches of evil eyes. Oh well. All the cool kids read this online anyway.

Memories that Last a Lifetime

2008-03-10T15:40:00.004-04:00

Goodnight Moon

2008-02-21T01:49:00.002-05:00

Writers are Back!

2008-02-14T04:59:00.005-05:00

I had to do another edit cartoon, this time in under 15 mins from conception to sending out the final product. The regular guy scheduled for today never sent one in.

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T04:53:00.003-05:00

Buckles the Third

2008-02-07T20:28:00.000-05:00

The Return of Buckles Brown the Topical Clown

2008-01-30T23:46:00.000-05:00

Buckles Brown the Topical Clown

2008-01-30T23:38:00.000-05:00

Ode to Scheduling

2008-01-29T02:59:00.000-05:00

It's the start of Spring semester...

2008-01-25T00:34:00.000-05:00

Shopping Period

2008-01-24T12:58:00.001-05:00

Oscar Nominations are Out

2008-01-23T02:08:00.000-05:00

So I got promoted to Graphics Editor this semester. I'm now in charge of the comics artists and editorial cartoon artists. None of the latter were set to draw a comic for today, the first day of publication for the semester, so I stepped in with my first ever editorial cartoon.

Crushed Dreams

2008-01-22T21:03:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the 1/23/08 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

"When you get a new car...."

2007-11-30T03:40:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the Nov. 30th, 2007 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Dumbing Down Monopoly

2007-11-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Marty's Haiku Hour

2007-11-27T05:07:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Break

2007-11-26T13:07:00.001-05:00

Though this goes out to the Med students (A-Baum, Danny, D-Wash...), the original inspiration came from seeing how much my sister, who is in law school, had to do over the weekend. You can read more about her adventures in case studies here. It's funny.

A Thanksgiving Tale

2007-11-19T00:29:00.000-05:00

Originally Published in the 11/19/07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Synesthesia

2007-11-16T03:39:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the 11-16-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Sleeping in Lectures

2007-11-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the 11-15-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Monday Morning Quarterback

2007-11-14T13:24:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the 11-14-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

It's still Midterms?

2007-11-13T03:53:00.000-05:00

Originally published in the 11-13-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Goldilocks and the Thermodynamic Anomaly

2007-11-02T02:58:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 11-2-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Kanye

2007-11-01T03:01:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 11-1-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Trick and/or Treat

2007-10-31T04:37:00.000-04:00

I'm serious. A picture of my costume is on the way. I couldn't find enough actual fezzes, so I made one out of balloons. :)

11:23pm - Here's the costume:

This was originally published in the 10-31-07 issue of The Brown Daily Herald.

Carry-on Luggage

2007-10-30T01:57:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-30-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

I'm back!

2007-10-29T12:39:00.000-04:00

After a 2 week sabbatical, Nightmarishly Elastic has returned to the comics page. Awesome.

Originally published in the 10-29-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

BRB!

2007-10-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

So when I saved a large and small size to send the the Herald, I accidentally saved over the large size. :( I was able to blow it back up a bit, but it's not as sharp as it could be. Oh well.

Originally published in the 10-12-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

A Tour of Brown

2007-10-11T03:44:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-11-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

It's like playing "Mousetrap..."

2007-10-10T03:06:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-10-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Congressman Crunk from Party Central, USA has the floor...

2007-10-09T02:42:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-09-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Why cereal should freak you out:

2007-10-05T02:13:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-5-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Orange You Terrified?

2007-10-04T03:48:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-4-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

A Scripted Reality Show? No, no, no... it's dinosaurs for you...

2007-10-03T01:53:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-3-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Operators are standing by

2007-10-02T02:27:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 10-2-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Sarcomere-casm?

2007-10-01T14:20:00.000-04:00

So I was studying for an exercise physiology exam and this sprung into my mind. For those who have never taken a physio course, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcomere#Contraction

Originally published in the 10/1/07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Seriously, I'm up to 195 on Facebook...

2007-09-28T14:24:00.001-04:00

Originally published in the 9-28-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Jokes are no fun when experienced literally.

2007-09-27T10:46:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 9/27/07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Maybe I should apply for a grant

2007-09-26T03:55:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 9-26-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

All the Guilt and None of the Food!

2007-09-24T00:17:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 9-24 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

... well, I think it's a funny joke.

2007-09-24T00:15:00.000-04:00

Originally published in the 9-21-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

I'm fighting the temptation to do all of them like this....

2007-09-24T00:14:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-20-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

I am serious about this one.

2007-09-24T00:11:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-19-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Seriously, I don't care if it stays on for that extra minute. Me wantee quesadilla.

2007-09-24T00:09:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-18-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Two of the three are loosely based on actual professors...

2007-09-24T00:06:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-17-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

I tried to ask Batman to comment, but that dick never got back to me.

2007-09-24T00:02:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-14-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

My friends and I actually did this in High School.....

2007-09-23T23:58:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-13-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Swarms of Freshmen

2007-09-23T23:57:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-12-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Turtle Shells

2007-09-23T23:56:00.000-04:00

Originally posted in the 9-11-07 issue of the Brown Daily Herald.

Pilot

2007-09-23T23:02:00.001-04:00

Originally printed in the Brown Daily Herald on 9-10-07.